The stalls next to them had equally slow business that day, with few people and only a handful of visitors.
A staff member from the adjacent booth approached. Zhang Tianxing casually offered him a cigarette.
"Brother, have a smoke?"
The middle-aged man accepted the cigarette, and they walked to a corner to share a smoke.
"Brother, what are you selling? Seafood?"
"Crawfish, big brother. And what about you, cans or drinks?"
"Crawfish lately, I've heard so much I'm about to grow them from my ears. You selling crawfish, you're truly brave."
The middle-aged man gave Zhang Tianxing a thumbs-up. Crawfish were indeed popular, having been reported on by China Daily and Zhonghai Daily.
Recently, there had been many negative comments about eating crawfish, clearly a sign of trouble.
Anyone selling crawfish at this crucial time was either a fierce dragon or a greenhorn.
"By the way, why are you guys relegated to this corner? You shouldn't be sent to the military reserves here."
Zhang Tianxing shook his head. The staff member's disdain indicated someone had given the order.
However, this was their first time in Zhonghai City and their first time participating in an international trade fair. They hadn't offended anyone.
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it. He'd just make a note of it.
"I don't know. We're here for the first time. We were assigned here as soon as we arrived today. By the way, brother, why is your location so remote too?"
The middle-aged man sighed, "Our factory manager offended someone, so they assigned us this spot. What can you do, brother? Haven't you eaten yet? Try our canned goods."
Zhang Tianxing smiled, "That would be great. I'll taste our own country's canned goods."
The middle-aged man brought over several bottles of canned goods. "Here, we have all sorts of flavors. Little brother, please try them. If we can't sell anything at this exhibition, our factory will likely go bankrupt."
"Huh? Brother, your canned goods aren't bad. Why aren't they selling? How much are they per bottle?" Zhang Tianxing couldn't quite understand.
"Fifty cents per can," the middle-aged man said listlessly.
Zhang Tianxing grunted. Canned goods were still considered a luxury item in those days, unaffordable for most people.
After all, a family's monthly income was only a few hundred yuan, and a bowl of noodles cost a dime. Therefore, ordinary families couldn't afford canned goods.
"Your crawfish are really out of luck. If people hadn't started saying crawfish are carcinogenic and contain heavy metals recently, and with China Daily having reported on crawfish, you'd be as popular as the moon."
"One gets, one gives; it's all fate. Crawfish became popular suddenly, and it's good that some people question it. It's better than this happening to me when I'm at my peak," Zhang Tianxing said nonchalantly.
It was a lie to say he didn't care, but it was because this matter couldn't be explained with words. It required experts to speak.
Otherwise, as the saying goes, rumors stop with the wise, and that holds true everywhere.
Zhang Tianxing and the middle-aged man exchanged contact information. The middle-aged man's name was Geng Fei.
He was a sales supervisor at the canning factory. According to him, if they couldn't sell the canned goods within three months, the entire factory would go bankrupt.
Zhang Tianxing accepted the canned goods from the other man and, in return, gave him some crawfish to try back home.
Geng Fei smiled and accepted them. "I've eaten crawfish several times here in Zhonghai. I wonder if your Yangcheng crawfish will be different from ours."
Zhang Tianxing wandered around the international trade fair. This time, it seemed Zhonghai City had invested considerable resources, inviting many foreign friends.
Seeing people of various skin colors, Zhang Tianxing frowned, a plan forming in his mind.
He decided that today's business was done. He would go back and prepare for tomorrow's plan.
Abroad, it seemed only Denmark had a crawfish festival. The challenge was how to promote crawfish to international palates.
"Forget it, Tianxing. We're not asking for clothing anymore. We've been busy here all day, and we haven't sold much."
"Exactly. I feel like we came to the wrong place. They don't welcome us here."
"I think our location is too remote, with little foot traffic. No one comes to this corner."
"Let's eat first, then we'll discuss what to do. A living person can't be choked to death by urine," Zhang Tianxing said, leading the way out.
"What about the stall here?"
"You four go eat. I'll stay here. Just bring me some takeout," Zhang Tianxing waved his hand and turned back to sit at the stall.
It seemed this international trade fair was for observation. In that case, he'd let his classmates look around while he kept an eye out for any opportunities.
Times were tough, and even the landlord had no surplus grain.
"Should I stay here with you?" Wen Jing said to Zhang Tianxing.
Zhang Tianxing waved his hand. "It looks like there'll be no business today. You all go together and see the sights of Zhonghai."
Gao Tianming responded feebly, "Alright, we'll be back soon."
Young people aren't afraid of hard work, but they fear lack of results. Working hard all day here, only to find they've made a loss, means a wasted day.
Zhang Tianxing already had a plan. Moreover, looking at the crowd at the international trade fair, as long as there were enough people, location wouldn't be an issue.
A remote location wasn't a problem; he could make the aroma of crawfish spread, drawing people in.
It was better to attract people than to solicit them.
Begging isn't business; customers coming on their own are true guests.
Li Fang and Zhu Dayong looked at the tall buildings around them. "These buildings are so tall here. When will our Yangcheng have such tall buildings?"
"Soon. We'll bring some good food for Tianxing when we get back," Wen Qing said with a slight smile.
"Sigh, I thought Tianxing was omnipotent. I didn't expect today to be such a failure," Gao Tianming said dejectedly.
"You've done quite well to get this far. As our peer, he has surpassed most of us," Wen Qing said slowly.
"I don't know what's going on. These negative comments about crawfish suddenly appeared, as if someone was deliberately spreading them," Zhu Dayong said indignantly.
They were all good students, and none of them were fools. Where there was smoke, there was fire. Such a fierce wave must have a cause.
It was just that the mastermind hadn't revealed themselves yet. Perhaps they just wanted to suppress the crawfish market and force Zhang Tianxing and his crawfish association out.
Until the truth was clear, no one knew the outcome.
Unexpectedly, when the four of them returned with takeout, they found Zhang Tianxing chatting and laughing with a group of foreign friends.
This astonished the four of them. What was going on? They'd only been gone for a meal, and he was already involved?
Was it true that nationality wasn't an issue, but compatibility was?
Wen Jing's face instantly turned cold. What was Zhang Tianxing up to? This was the Zhonghai International Trade Fair.